The 2013 Homecoming Parade brought together hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members to show their K-State pride on Friday, October 25. The parade featured many imaginative floats created by K-State students, with themes ranging from “Back Through the Future” to Dr. Seuss.
The parade started on Poyntz Avenue, in the historic Downtown Manhattan. This area of Manhattan features many locally-owned shops and businesses, and is currently undergoing a lot of growth and renovations.
Each year, K-Staters are chosen to serve as grand marshals. The 2013 Grand Marshals were Warren (’65) and Mary Lynn Staley (’65); they were accompanied by their grandchildren Ella and Bennett Cherveny.
The parade continued through several blocks and ended with a pep rally at the Larry Norvell Band Shell in City Park, one of the oldest parks in the community. The crowd was filled with the K-State spirit thanks to performances by the pep band, cheerleaders, Classy Cats and Willie the Wildcat.
Kansas State University hosted the closing ceremonies for its 150th anniversary on the lawn of Anderson Hall, October 24.
Celebrate 150 Sign
Visitors were treated to the last batch of “Wildcat Birthday 150” ice cream from Call Hall while they listened to the K-State Marching Band and browsed the “artifacts” chosen by each of the university’s colleges to commemorate the 150th year of K-State.
Time Capsule Sign
Division of Continuing Education Archive Items
The ceremony included remarks from Kirk Schulz, university president, and Jackie Hartman, chief of staff and director of community relations.
President Kirk Schulz
Willie the Wildcat listens to Jackie Hartman’s remarks.
If you’re a distance student who has been admitted to a distance degree program, you are eligible for scholarships offered through the Division of Continuing Education (DCE). The application deadline for Spring 2014 scholarships is November 2, 2013.
Make sure you put your best foot forward when filling out scholarship applications. Below are tips to help you shine.
Follow the directions: In the race to get an application in on time, students sometimes make mistakes. By following all of the directions provided, you can give yourself an advantage. Also, make sure you provide all of the information requested.
Provide examples: When writing your essay, make sure each statement has evidence to support it. Instead of simply writing that you have leadership skills, illustrate your point by following your statement with an anecdote.
Help your supporters: Provide the people writing letters of recommendation for you with a list of your accomplishments. It will make their job much easier and may also improve the quality of your recommendations.
Proofread: Before you submit your application, review it carefully for grammar and punctuation. Ask someone to read your application as well. He or she may catch something you missed!
Visit our Financial Assistance and Scholarships website to learn more about the scholarships that are available, eligibility, how to apply and additional financial assistance opportunities.
If you have questions about DCE’s scholarships, please contact Maleah Lundeen at maleah@k-state.edu.
Unveiled on Friday, September 30 before the 2013 season opener with North Dakota State, K-State’s multi-million dollar upgrade to the West Stadium Center at Bill Snyder Family Stadium is the university’s newest way to give Wildcat fans the best game day experience yet.
Now 215,000 square feet, the West Stadium Center has several new amenities to benefit both fans and athletes. A new student-athlete performance dining center overlooking Wagner Field will serve athletes in all 16 sports. Two hundred percent more restrooms and concession service points work to cover the needs of the Wildcat fan base.
New West Stadium Center
“The West Stadium Center is yet another milestone achievement in the transformation of not just the football program but the entire department thanks to Coach Snyder’s tireless leadership,” Athletics Director John Currie said.
Other features include covered ADA seating, a new fan merchandise outlet and more than 375 televisions to ensure fans are able to see the action of the game from anywhere. New field lighting enhances viewing experience while improved parking lot lighting boosts the area’s safety and security. Décor has been upgraded to include new graphics and signage throughout the facility, a hall of honor and a family-friendly picnic area. A new K-StateHD.tv high definition production and video-board control studio has also been implemented.
The improvements made to West Stadium Center, also known as Phase II of the six-phase Bill Snyder Family Stadium Master Plan, totaled $90 million. The entire project is funded through a combination of private construction gifts, premium seat contributions from Ahearn Fund members and athletics department revenue. No state tax dollars or university tuition revenue are being used.
The project in its entirety involved more than 12,000 cubic yards of concrete, 2,500 tons of steel and nearly 350 construction workers onsite. West Stadium Center now stands seven stories tall, with a limestone exterior drawing parallels to existing campus architecture. Completed just eight months after the demolition of the former press box structure, it provides a signature image for K-State Athletics and Kansas State University as a whole.
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Marci Bunn, Gainesville, Fla., a Kansas State University distance education student pursuing her bachelor’s degree in general business, first started college on campus in 1999 as an accounting student. But she discovered she needed a different path to help her complete the degree.
“Online courses were just developing in 1999 and I suppose that had always been in the back of my mind,” Bunn said. “When I came to a time in my life when I was ready to complete my degree, K-State was my first choice. I headed to the website and found we had come a long way and that I would be able to complete exactly what I needed.”
Bunn got a job working part time at the Kansas State University Foundation in the internal operations department, where she developed an interest in business. Now with a full workload at her current job at Strategic Veterinary Consulting, Bunn’s schedule is hardly predictable.
“One thing is consistent — I’m very busy,” she said. “There are some weeks my phone rarely stops ringing and other weeks where I’m buried in the financials of our clients. Time management is of the utmost importance. With online classes, I can choose the times I work on school, which means I can focus on quality time, not just quantity.”
Bunn’s desire to earn her degree goes beyond just receiving her diploma. By working at Strategic Veterinary Consulting, Bunn is able to “bridge the gap,” as she likes to call it, between the medical world that her veterinarian clients are trained for and the business side of owning a practice.
“I think it’s a rare privilege to offer such tangible and immediate help to others in the business world. Of course, along with great privilege comes great responsibility, so I’m constantly working to keep my skills sharp and to ensure my coaching is exactly on target,” Bunn said.
She has been able to sharpen those skills with the guidance of her Kansas State University adviser Rachel Schafer and professors such as Chwen Sheu, professor and head of the university’s department of management, who teaches classes that directly correlate to aspects of her job.
“I have been able to complete courses that have made an immediate impact on my business performance, and there have been courses that I could apply directly to a project I was completing at that time,” she said. “While we all have our own journeys and complete our education differently, I can say I have found it an advantage to complete my degree now, as I’m able to put what I learn into action immediately.”
Additionally, Bunn has received further support and guidance from Jon Davis, an executive mentor whom she was paired with as part of the Kansas State University College of Business Administration’s Business Executive Mentor Program. The program, which is only available to students in the college, acts as a liaison between students and professionals. The executive mentors provide feedback and act as guides in developing the skills to be successful in the workplace.
“In just the past few months, Jon has helped me build a major presentation, work through class issues and has been a sounding board for the next steps in my career,” Bunn said. “I believe the mentor program offers an invaluable opportunity.”
Of course, no college experience would be complete without a bit of school pride.
“I brag about Kansas State University to just about anyone who will listen,” Bunn said. “I have friends and colleagues pursuing degrees and certificates through other universities, and I’m constantly hearing stories of disengaged professors, poor student involvement and general lack of care from the universities. K-State is the absolute opposite.”
With her true career passion established and the finish line in sight, Bunn is on course to graduate in 2014.
“I’m hoping to fly back to Manhattan to walk at graduation. I cannot express what it will mean to complete what I started,” she said.
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Want to know more about our new Division of Continuing Education advisor, Ashley Sloan? Read on to see what her supervisor and fellow academic advisor, Rachel Schafer, has to say about the newest member of DCE’s advising staff.
Ashley Sloan
Ashley grew up in Great Bend, Kan., with her parents, June and Robbie, and older brother, Bobby. She will soon marry her fiancé, Cody. She loves to listen to all types of music, from jazz to country, while making dinner every night after work. It is a stress reliever for her and something that she enjoys.
Ashley bleeds purple. She received her undergraduate degree in sociology from Kansas State University and will complete her master’s in academic advising in May. She loves the faculty and staff at K-State, as well as the city of Manhattan, which is why she and Cody have chosen to make this their home. She loves all the trees, the certain “buzz” Manhattan has and the Wildcat Pride that is evident all around.
Besides her wonderful supervisor, she likes the perks of having her own office and being able to park right next to the DCE building. These really are rare across campus! Her favorite thing about working at DCE—besides helping students and the job itself—are the smiles she gets when walking through our maze of a building. Each person at DCE has been welcoming to her, and for her, that speaks volumes.
When asked what her advice would be to her students, Ashley had the following tips:
1. Talk to your advisor often.
2. My biggest piece of advice for my Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program students who work full time, are raising a family or both, is to start off with fewer courses to get the hang of distance learning. That way you’ll know what you can handle on top of other daily demands, without diving in too deep and becoming discouraged with the idea of returning to school to complete your degree.
3. To my younger students, do not take “time” for granted. Start doing some soul-searching early on. If you’re unsure what you want to do as a freshman or sophomore, yes, you have time to figure it out, but be active in your future plans. Read up on careers you might be interested in, then talk with your parents, an advisor or another mentor to ask questions about what those careers might entail and what educational path will help you get there.
Ashley is the advisor for Interdisciplinary Social Science and General Human Ecology distance students. She is a great part of our team here at DCE!
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A new television commercial for the Division of Continuing Education began airing on KSNT TV in Kansas on September 1. The commercial was shot and produced at K-State.
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If you are a distance student, your course exams can be facilitated in several different ways. Some courses require a proctor to oversee the course exams. The role of the proctor is to duplicate the classroom environment as close as possible while serving as a proxy for the instructor and monitoring you during the entirety of your exams. You will receive an email from the Student and Faculty Services office if you are required to find a proctor.
We recognize that it can be challenging to find a proctor in your area; you may not know where to even start looking! Below is a list of appropriate proctors that you can look for. Please note that some proctors may charge a fee, which the student is responsible for paying.
Testing facility at a university or community college campus. (Please visit the National College Testing Association website for available options. Please note this is not an exhaustive list of acceptable testing centers.)
County agent (county extension office)
Adult learning center
Sylvan Learning Center/Huntington Learning Center (or equivalent)
Federal government agency (if military personnel are overseas/deployed, we will approve on a case-by-case basis)
Students who live in the Manhattan, Kan. area can test here at the Division of Continuing Education. Our testing center is located at 1615 Anderson Ave, Entrance C.
You can also use ProctorU, an at-home proctoring service. You must have a webcam and speaker, and the testing cost will be at the student’s expense. Information can be found at http://www.proctoru.com/k-state/. Please note that ProctorU can ONLY be used for electronic exams.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Student and Faculty Services office at 785-532-5686 or 1-800-622-2KSU.
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Kansas State University kicked off the first football game of the season with the annual Purple Power Play on August 28-29. Due to construction, the festivities were moved from Poyntz Avenue to City Park.
Purple Power Play
The event included two evening pep rallies featuring the K-State coaches, marching band, cheerleaders, Classy Cats and Willie the Wildcat.
Purple Power Play
Leading up to the pep rallies were performances by K-State Tap Dance Studio, Bates Dance Studio, Mikey Needleman Band, Manhattan High School Pop Choir, Washington Dance Studio and David Oak Leaf and The Open Road.
Purple Power Play
More than 80 vendors offered food, beverages, games and prizes. The event concluded with fireworks at sunset on Thursday.
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The start of fall term is a great time to get acquainted with Kansas State University—and now there’s a new way to experience campus even if you can’t travel to Manhattan for a visit.
The Division of Continuing Education’s Virtual Open House helps connect you to campus so you can:
Explore K-State up close with a photo tour and Google Street View.
Check out videos of distance education instructors, advisors and more.
Learn about services you can access as a distance student.
Experience the K-State culture, tradition and sense of place.
Follow “K-State Distance” through social media or chat with us live.
If you’re able to visit Manhattan, you can schedule a campus visit through K-State’s Office of Admissions. Be sure to stop by the Division of Continuing Education in the College Court building if you’re in town.
Go forth and explore your university!
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